Victim's Relative Hurls Shoe at Breivik

Mass murdering anti-Muslim militant Anders Behring Breivik found himself targeted by the irate shoe-wielding relative of one of his victims

By Gabe Kahn

First Publish: 5/11/2012, 3:25 PM

Anders Behring Breivik

Reuters

The trial of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik was interrupted briefly Friday when the brother one of his 77 victims hurled a shoe at him.

"Go to Hell! Go to Hell! You killed my brother!" the distraught shoe-hurling relative screamed before being escorted out of the courtroom.

It was the first such outburst from the gallery in Oslo’s district court, where courtroom observers have been unusually subdued despite Breivik's own chillingly and implacably delievered account of his crimes.

Breivik — a self-styled anti-Muslim militant — has admittd he carried out a bomb-and-shooting rampage that stunned Norway on July 22.

However, he pleaded not guilty saying his actions were "cruel, but necessary" because his victims were traitors to Norway because they embraced multiculturalism.

He said a "slow-motion Muslim invasion" was underway due to Norway's decision to liberalize its immigration policies.

Police didn’t identify the shoe-thrower in Oslo but said he was the brother of one of the victims.

Swedish journalist Mikaela Akerman told the Associated Press that forensic experts were testifying when a man in the second row suddenly stood up.

“He threw one of his shoes at the desk where Breivik sits with his defense lawyers,” Akerman said. "'Go to Hell! You killed my brother!' He yelled it several times."

She said Breivik remained calm and “smiled a little” as he watched security guards seize the man and lead him out of the court room.

“He keeps shouting and is crying heavily as he’s being led out,” Akerman said. “Some of the spectators clapped their hands. Some yelled ‘Bravo.’ Many others started crying.”

Breivik reportedly addressed the court as proceedings resumed after a 10-minute recess.

“If someone wants to throw something at me, you can do it when I walk in or when I leave, thank you,” he said, according to Akerman.

Ironically - while throwing shoes has long been a form of protest in many countries - it is most deeply associated in Western culture with the Breivik's hated Islam.

What may be the most well-known incident of shoe-throwing occured when an Iraqi threw his shoes at then-U.S. President George W. Bush at a televised news conference in Baghdad in 2008 during the Iraq war.